Minato Namikaze

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, two years had passed. Ever since seeing Kakashi and his group in that little shop, Yuun had unconsciously increased his training. Even if he could not become a main combat force like Naruto Uzumaki or Sasuke, he could not end up like Neji Hyuga, unable to even play a minor role. Even someone as formidable as Kakashi, who graduated at five, became a Chunin at six, and a Jonin at twelve, could only coast along. If Yuun kept taking it easy, he would eventually sink into the Infinite Tsukuyomi.

Though a world where he could do as he pleased sounded wonderful, the thought of his fate being controlled by others sent a chill down Yuun's spine.

Someone from the clan came to inform Yuun that the Ninja Academy would open tomorrow and told him to attend classes. As a member of the Hyuga Clan, becoming a ninja was his only choice. Clan members like Yuun's mother, who lacked the talent to become ninja, could never leave the village for their entire lives. Even if the Curse Mark known as the Caged Bird had already been branded on their foreheads, it made no difference.

Yuun did not refuse and obediently agreed. To him, attending the Ninja Academy was his only way forward. His father, a Chunin, had not and could not possibly leave him any training scrolls. If he wanted to become a ninja, he could only attend the Ninja Academy.

Although he had survived sixteen years of endless studying and exams in his previous life, Yuun was still a little excited at the thought of going to the Ninja Academy. Fortunately, five years of a regular routine had gotten him used to sleeping on time, so he did not have to go to school the next day with dark circles under his eyes.

The next day, the Hyuga clansman who had notified Yuun about attending the Ninja Academy brought him to gather at the entrance of their settlement. Several Hyuga children older than Yuun were already waiting there. They were students of the Ninja Academy as well. To protect the Byakugan bloodline, underage members of the Hyuga Clan were not allowed to act alone. Even when attending class in their own village, they had to be escorted by adult clan members.

Most of the Hyuga boys older than Yuun had bandages wrapped around their foreheads. When they saw Yuun's smooth forehead, they froze for a moment before turning away in disgust. Yuun responded with silence. He made no attempt to explain that he was not from the Main House. Who knew what consequences that might bring? Although he did not know why he had yet to receive the Curse Mark despite already being five years old, Yuun hoped this situation could continue. As long as he waited until adulthood, he would be safe.

After a while, several more children arrived one after another. Some had bandages around their foreheads, while others did not. However, those without bandages remained a minority. Even including Yuun, there were only three. When the last child arrived, the Hyuga clansman counted everyone and led the group toward the Ninja Academy.

The Hyuga Clan was one of Konoha's foremost great clans. They could not exactly move through Konoha without obstruction, but they did enjoy all sorts of privileges. Led by his clansman, Yuun ignored the long registration line and walked openly into the classroom. No one around them showed any dissatisfaction. Instead, they all seemed to think it was perfectly natural.

"Yuun, from now on, come gather at the main gate every morning like you did today, then come to school with everyone. You'll still eat breakfast and dinner in the clan compound as before. Someone from the clan will bring you lunch. After school in the afternoon, go gather with everyone at the school gate and return together. Do you understand?"

Yuun nodded. It was a little troublesome, but still within his range of acceptance.

"Your teacher will be here soon. Find a seat and sit down first. I'm leaving now." The clansman patted Yuun on the head, then turned and left.

Yuun looked around the classroom and sat down in the third row directly facing the blackboard. Ever since childhood, that had almost always been where he sat.

"This should be the place, right?" A bright male voice drifted in from outside the classroom. A blond young man walked in, his sunny smile making Yuun freeze. "Hello, everyone. I'm Minato Namikaze."

Yuun learned afterward that just a few days earlier, Minato Namikaze, known as the Yellow Flash, had officially become the Fourth Hokage. A few days after becoming Hokage, he had come to inspect the Ninja Academy. Unlike the previous three Hokage, Minato Namikaze had graduated from the Ninja Academy. It held special meaning for him. Perhaps he also wanted to convey something to someone, but that had nothing to do with Yuun.

A few days after school began, Yuun had mostly adjusted to campus life after so long away from it. The foundation he had built before quickly showed itself. Whether it was the two fixed periods of physical exercise every day or taijutsu training, he completed them well. As for ninjutsu theory and all kinds of basic knowledge afterward, they were effortless for someone who had been a top student for sixteen years.

The only thing giving him a bit of a headache was chakra. To his surprise, having lived two lives had not strengthened his spiritual energy. It was no different from that of an ordinary person. Instead, his physical energy far surpassed normal people's. It was not until the teacher explained it that he realized he had taken things for granted. In a sense, so-called spiritual energy should be an extension of thought—willpower combined with things that could not yet be understood. Most of the time, those things were called talent. The stronger a person's will, the more abundant their spiritual energy tended to be. And the more abundant their spiritual energy, the easier it was to extract and control chakra.

Of course, spiritual energy was not the most important thing for ninja. Physical energy mattered more. Spiritual energy was more closely related to the control and extraction of chakra, while the amount of chakra itself was determined by physical energy.

Madara Uchiha possessed tremendous willpower and could stand toe-to-toe with the First Hokage, but in terms of chakra volume alone, he definitely could not compare to the First Hokage. The chakra consumed by Wood Release capable of moving mountains, filling seas, and easily suppressing Tailed Beasts had to be astronomical. Madara Uchiha could also subdue Tailed Beasts, but he relied more on the Sharingan and followed a more technical approach. That was the advantage of powerful physical energy. The First Hokage, who possessed the Sage Body, was the true "humanoid Tailed Beast."

Once he knew where his mistake lay, things became easier. Yuun still did not fully understand what willpower was, but he could follow the teacher's instructions and put them into practice step by step.

Willpower was roughly made up of four aspects: independence, decisiveness, steadfastness, and self-control. It meant not yielding to the pressure of others, not blindly following the crowd, and being able to make and carry out decisions independently according to one's own understanding and beliefs. It meant being able to promptly make well-founded decisions and carry them out after careful consideration. It meant maintaining confidence in the reasonableness of one's decisions over a long period, persistently working to carry them out with a clear direction of action. It also meant being skilled at controlling and directing one's own actions, as well as regulating one's emotional state.

Willpower could increase spiritual energy, but the degree of increase varied. No one had yet conducted accurate research into something so dependent on the individual.

After learning this, Yuun consciously increased the intensity of his training. He had heard that doing so would strengthen his willpower, and he discovered that several people in the class performed no worse than he did.

"Hana Inuzuka! What exactly do you want?!" Yuun held his lunch, trembling with anger. Just as he was about to enjoy his meal, the little girl in front of him snatched his chopsticks, gave them a hard lick, and looked at him with a smug expression. With an adult soul, he did not particularly mind, but this seemingly cute short-haired girl had harassed him several times over the past few days. This time, he finally snapped.

"Fight me again!" Hana Inuzuka said righteously. "I'm obviously stronger than you. Last time's result doesn't count!"

If it had been anyone else, Yuun felt he would have agreed without hesitation, if only to get some peace and quiet. But against Hana Inuzuka, he would rather forget it. She might look cute, but she was a notorious little tyrant at school. Only a few days after classes began, her bad reputation had spread throughout the entire academy.

There was no helping it. She was from the Inuzuka clan and already had several four- or five-year-old ninja dogs by her side at five. Forget students—even Genin who had already graduated might not be able to beat her. On top of that, this little girl was no pushover herself. Once she used her clan's secret Four-Legged Technique, her combat strength soared. Yuun had only outlasted her during taijutsu class thanks to his physical advantage. Otherwise, she truly would have been unmatched in the entire class.